Russell down to 2

[HuskyMJ]

That blogger on the first page also is not very unbiased but I give her credit for admitting it. Its the ones who claim to be unbiased but aren't that are harder to read. Not a blog I will peruse in the future

 

[Bayareahusky]

I see everyone giving Holly a free pass last year..... she obviously was given control of the team..... Pat was a non existent game coach.... it seems that folks are not seeing HW's game management prowess..... well we will see what this year will bring.

 

[doggydaddy]

I see everyone giving Holly a free pass last year..... she obviously was given control of the team..... Pat was a non existent game coach.... it seems that folks are not seeing HW's game management prowess..... well we will see what this year will bring.

No free pass from me. Game coaching is game coaching no matter what is going on around the team. Her substitution patterns were strange and the five seniors starting every game after senior night? A desperate move. I didn't see any offensive flow. Their (her) handling of Simmons early on caused on the floor friction between Simmons and the seniors, specifically Stricklen.

It should be interesting to see how it plays out this year with a very young team.

 

[Bestiarius]

How can you bash Warlick when she just got the job and was only the interim coach? Tennessee's style of offense couldn't be that bad they were top 20 in the country in PPG. Louisville was not even top 50. No body knows how Warlick will do until she gets her own players in her system. Getting MR will go a long way in determining how her system looks.

I don't see it as bashing, it's just honesty. Holly was in control of the team and didn't get the job done.

Regarding Holly getting her own players - what you're implying is that Pat was perhaps a poor recruiter and Holly will recruit better people. That's wishful thinking.

Are you saying Holly's "system" will be drastically different than Pat's? Given the length of time Holly has worked under Pat's system, I find it hard to believe there will be a drastic change.

 

[DobbsRover2]

How can you bash Warlick when she just got the job and was only the interim coach? Tennessee's style of offense couldn't be that bad they were top 20 in the country in PPG. Louisville was not even top 50. No body knows how Warlick will do until she gets her own players in her system. Getting MR will go a long way in determining how her system looks.

But Louisville was pretty crippled with two of the their starting front court gone and one of their top two scorers, so they were challenged there. And though UTenn's scoring was at #16 due in part to Simmons and faster-paced offense, the defense was correspondingly rated at #136, which was very not good. If the idea is to pump up the offense and have the games where you're giving up 97 and 93 points, that's not going to cut it against the better teams though it does the job against Chattanooga and Alabama.

 

[Justavisitor]

No free pass from me. Game coaching is game coaching no matter what is going on around the team. Her substitution patterns were strange and the five seniors starting every game after senior night? A desperate move. I didn't see any offensive flow. Their (her) handling of Simmons early on caused on the floor friction between Simmons and the seniors, specifically Stricklen.

It should be interesting to see how it plays out this year with a very young team.

Many of those decisions were not Holly's, including starting line ups and substitution patters. She did not have total control of the reigns. This year will tell the story.

 

[UConnCat]

Here's a view from a Louisville blog Cardinal Couple

http://cardinalcouple.blogspot.com/

A contrast in schools on Ms. Russell's list. Louisville...rapidly growing in fan base and national recognition...with the state of the art KFC YUM! Center as their home base and top 10 pre-season ranked program for 2012-13 season. An athletic director and associates committed to Title IX and growth in all sports on campus. Often recognized as the "best college sports town" in America, the school plays in the toughest conference in women's basketball...the BIG EAST.

Then there is Tennessee. Rocked by the retirement of legendary Pat Summitt. One of the few schools that give a fair footing to women's basketball in a conference known for SEC football and Kentucky men's basketball. Still with a large attendance base but mired in controversy over the combining of the men's and women's athletic departments and dismissal of key people in women's sports. Once powerful, the Lady Vols torch doesn't burn quite as brightly as in past years.

 

[speedoo]

Many of those decisions were not Holly's, including starting line ups and substitution patters. She did not have total control of the reigns. This year will tell the story.

So who made those decisions, if not Warlick? That is really a ridiculous situation, if true.

 

[alexrgct]

Here's a view from a Louisville blog Cardinal Couple

http://cardinalcouple.blogspot.com/

A contrast in schools on Ms. Russell's list. Louisville...rapidly growing in fan base and national recognition...with the state of the art KFC YUM! Center as their home base and top 10 pre-season ranked program for 2012-13 season. An athletic director and associates committed to Title IX and growth in all sports on campus. Often recognized as the "best college sports town" in America, the school plays in the toughest conference in women's basketball...the BIG EAST.

Then there is Tennessee. Rocked by the retirement of legendary Pat Summitt. One of the few schools that give a fair footing to women's basketball in a conference known for SEC football and Kentucky men's basketball. Still with a large attendance base but mired in controversy over the combining of the men's and women's athletic departments and dismissal of key people in women's sports. Once powerful, the Lady Vols torch doesn't burn quite as brightly as in past years.

If the author of that blog were any more of a homer, s/he'd look like this:

 

[doggydaddy]

If the author of that blog were any more of a homer, s/he'd look like this:

So, what exactly did you disagree with there?

 

[doggydaddy]

Many of those decisions were not Holly's, including starting line ups and substitution patters. She did not have total control of the reigns. This year will tell the story.

Are you saying that Pat made those decisions? How did Pat do that while sitting quietly outside of the huddles? I never saws none other than Warlick direct players to the court.

 

[alexrgct]

So, what exactly did you disagree with there?

Louisville is not "the best college sports town in America" or anything close to it.

The WBB program's national profile peaked in 2009. And to try to compare any school other than UConn's national profile to Tennessee's is just dumb.

Despite all of the turmoil experienced at Tennessee last season, they still won their conference tourney and made the Elite Eight, whereas Louisville handed St John's a game in the BET and then lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney.

The SEC has a long and storied tradition of excellence in WBB. With Texas A&M joining the conference, along with a number of other decent programs, to make the SEC out to be somehow a poor conference for WBB is ludicrous.

Basically, it doesn't make a ton of sense to characterize Louisville as a program on the rise and Tennessee as one on the decline when Russell's decision will go a long way towards determining if either is actually true.

 

[doggydaddy]

Louisville is not "the best college sports town in America" or anything close to it.

The WBB program's national profile peaked in 2009. And to try to compare any school other than UConn's national profile to Tennessee's is just dumb.

Despite all of the turmoil experienced at Tennessee last season, they still won their conference tourney and made the Elite Eight, whereas Louisville handed St John's a game in the BET and then lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney.

The SEC has a long and storied tradition of excellence in WBB. With Texas A&M joining the conference, along with a number of other decent programs, to make the SEC out to be somehow a poor conference for WBB is ludicrous.

Basically, it doesn't make a ton of sense to characterize Louisville as a program on the rise and Tennessee as one on the decline when Russell's decision will go a long way towards determining if either is actually true.

So, the only SPECIFIC comment you disagree with is the "best college sports town in America" And the comment was "often recognized" not "was". Everthing else you posted was your disagreement with the over take on comparing the two schools, not the specific statements made.

Louisville
Rapidly growing in fan base and national recognition
State of the art KFC YUM! Center as their home base
Top 10 pre-season ranked program for 2012-13 season.
An athletic director and associates committed to Title IX and growth in all sports on campus.
Often recognized as the "best college sports town" in America
The school plays in the toughest conference in women's basketball...the BIG EAST.

Tennessee
Rocked by the retirement of legendary Pat Summitt.
One of the few schools that give a fair footing to women's basketball in a conference known for SEC football and Kentucky men's basketball.
Still with a large attendance base but mired in controversy over the combining of the men's and women's athletic departments and dismissal of key people in women's sports.
Once powerful, the Lady Vols torch doesn't burn quite as brightly as in past years.
I don't see much to argue with here. You lose a HOF coach and come off 4 years of no FF's and it certainly is a program in decline.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Louisville is not "the best college sports town in America" or anything close to it.

The WBB program's national profile peaked in 2009. And to try to compare any school other than UConn's national profile to Tennessee's is just dumb.

Despite all of the turmoil experienced at Tennessee last season, they still won their conference tourney and made the Elite Eight, whereas Louisville handed St John's a game in the BET and then lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney.

The SEC has a long and storied tradition of excellence in WBB. With Texas A&M joining the conference, along with a number of other decent programs, to make the SEC out to be somehow a poor conference for WBB is ludicrous.

Basically, it doesn't make a ton of sense to characterize Louisville as a program on the rise and Tennessee as one on the decline when Russell's decision will go a long way towards determining if either is actually true.

Seriously? I didn't know Louisville's win over MSU in the first round had been overturned. Did they still get to be edged by MD in MD in the second round or was that negated too? As noted, after losing two front court starters, there season looks pretty decent compared to UTenn's performance with the storied senior superstar class. And UTenn's win in a very poor SEC last season is something to chortle about?

I think what fans are saying is that the SEC's glory days are gone now, and for more than a decade have depended on almost entirely one team, whose status also appears to have taken a big hit. The B12 bypassed the SEC as the Big East's big competition years ago. The SEC has not had a team in the Final 4 since Candace Parker left school. It's fun to bury ourselves in the past sometimes, but we should not let it keep us from seeing reality of the current world of the WCBB.

 

[alexrgct]

Seriously? I didn't know Louisville's win over MSU in the first round had been overturned. Did they still get to be edged by MD in MD in the second round or was that negated too? As noted, after losing two front court starters, there season looks pretty decent compared to UTenn's performance with the storied senior superstar class. And UTenn's win in a very poor SEC last season is something to chortle about?

I think what fans are saying is that the SEC's glory days are gone now, and for more than a decade have depended on almost entirely one team, whose status also appears to have taken a big hit. The B12 bypassed the SEC as the Big East's big competition years ago. The SEC has not had a team in the Final 4 since Candace Parker left school. It's fun to bury ourselves in the past sometimes, but we should not let it keep us from seeing reality of the current world of the WCBB.

Oh my bad- beating a MSU program that didn't even belong in the tourney was a tremendous accomplishment.

If we want to talk about the SEC, how about we start with the in-state program that has been outperforming Walz's since Angel left? You may have heard of them, even if the blogger thinks they only have a men's program. Throw in Vandy, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia and South Carolina, not to mention Texas A&M and Tennessee, and yeah, the SEC is a fine women's BB conference.

 

[alexrgct]

So, the only SPECIFIC comment you disagree with is the "best college sports town in America" And the comment was "often recognized" not "was". Everthing else you posted was your disagreement with the over take on comparing the two schools, not the specific statements made.

Louisville
Rapidly growing in fan base and national recognition
State of the art KFC YUM! Center as their home base
Top 10 pre-season ranked program for 2012-13 season.
An athletic director and associates committed to Title IX and growth in all sports on campus.
Often recognized as the "best college sports town" in America
The school plays in the toughest conference in women's basketball...the BIG EAST.

Tennessee
Rocked by the retirement of legendary Pat Summitt.
One of the few schools that give a fair footing to women's basketball in a conference known for SEC football and Kentucky men's basketball.
Still with a large attendance base but mired in controversy over the combining of the men's and women's athletic departments and dismissal of key people in women's sports.
Once powerful, the Lady Vols torch doesn't burn quite as brightly as in past years.
I don't see much to argue with here. You lose a HOF coach and come off 4 years of no FF's and it certainly is a program in decline.

A Louisville homer stating that the LVs are in decline would be like the Swiss celebrating that China fell to second place in the medals standings in the Olympics. In other words, saying that Tennessee is in decline from a position Louisville has never sniffed is pretty silly.

Characterizing Tennessee's athletic department as "mired in controversy" is a gross overstatement. Some decisions were made, others didn't like it, and there's little evidence that any of that is going to impact that actual program results. A Johnny-come-lately program's fan not-so-subtly questioning Tennessee's relative dedication to Title IX is even more ludicrous.

Oh by the way: those big-time CFB and basketball programs have afforded sec schools a ton of resources and television coverage, even for other sports. How many Louisville games were televised vis a vis Tennessee?

The Big East is a premier WBB conference because of UConn and Notre Dame. Louisville is not a bad program, but no one would be calling he Beast a premier WBB conference because of their presence.

Basically, I'm getting kind of tired of all the excuses for why Louisville hasn't done squat since Angel graduated. I don't care about your recruits. I don't care about your basketball arena that you basically give away tickets to in order for "fans" to attend WBB games. I don't care about anything other than results, and by the way, you have a program in your own state that has been killing you in that category since Angel left. Until you do something better than getting absolutely curb stomped by UConn three times en route to an also-ran finish against a weak field, don't compare yourselves to a program with eight national championships and two consecutive trips to the Elite Eight, even in a time of relative turmoil.

My god, this blogger just made me defend the honor of the LV program. I feel dirty.

 

[doggydaddy]

A Louisville homer stating that the LVs are in decline would be like the Swiss celebrating that China fell to second place in the medals standings in the Olympics. In other words, saying that Tennessee is in decline from a position Louisville has never sniffed is pretty silly.

So you have to come from a more successful program for a fan to be critical of another one?

Characterizing Tennessee's athletic department as "mired in controversy" is a gross overstatement. Some decisions were made, others didn't like it, and there's little evidence that any of that is going to impact that actual program results. A Johnny-come-lately program's fan not-so-subtly questioning Tennessee's relative dedication to Title IX is even more ludicrous.

Just ask the Tennessee women's fan about this one. They have been hammering the AD for months. I admit I have no clue about Title IX for any school.

Oh by the way: those big-time CFB and basketball programs have afforded sec schools a ton of resources and television coverage, even for other sports. How many Louisville games were televised vis a vis Tennessee?

Good question. Do you have that answer?

The Big East is a premier WBB conference because of UConn and Notre Dame. Louisville is not a bad program, but no one would be calling he Beast a premier WBB conference because of their presence.

That is kind of harsh. Louisville women have been a solid contributor to BE basketball.

Basically, I'm getting kind of tired of all the excuses for why Louisville hasn't done squat since Angel graduated. I don't care about your recruits. I don't care about your basketball arena that you basically give away tickets to in order for "fans" to attend WBB games. I don't care about anything other than results, and by the way, you have a program in your own state that has been killing you in that category since Angel left. Until you do something better than getting absolutely curb stomped by UConn three times en route to an also-ran finish against a weak field, don't compare yourselves to a program with eight national championships and two consecutive trips to the Elite Eight, even in a time of relative turmoil.

Wow...two consecutive trips to the EE. Whoopdie doooo! Right now I would take UL's current situation to UT's.

My god, this blogger just made me defend the honor of the LV program. I feel dirty.

Go take a shower, you will feel better.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Oh my bad- beating a MSU program that didn't even belong in the tourney was a tremendous accomplishment.

If we want to talk about the SEC, how about we start with the in-state program that has been outperforming Walz's since Angel left? You may have heard of them, even if the blogger thinks they only have a men's program. Throw in Vandy, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia and South Carolina, not to mention Texas A&M and Tennessee, and yeah, the SEC is a fine women's BB conference.

Indeed your bad. You dislike Louisville so much you don't even have the courtesy to refrain from giving the Cardinals a Ball-State version one-and-out, dump on that win (don't most first round opponents of decent teams have few real credentials for being among the top 64 teams?) and then go all SECophant over a conference that plainly has not done diddly in the last four years. No FF teams. Yes they had a total of 4 teams in the Elite 8 during the last four years, and all were routed with the closest loss being by 14 points. If that is success to you and something that you think excites the young college recruits out there, you're welcome to the opinion and are to be commended for being so understanding of bad performances. I know you are going to try to somehow assign Texas A&M's success to the SEC, but it wasn't won there, and the Aggies have not played a game in that conference yet. Oh, and yes, Louisville has had more Elite-8 and FF wins (2) than all those SEC teams during the last four years combined (0).

The truth is, Walz guided Louisville to an NC game appearance in recent times by running through much higher ranked teams, and that is one thing that does stick in recruits' memory. He also did it largely behind a star player that many of us here on the BY criticized for being wild, selfish, and out-of-control. Schimmel is no McC0ughtry, and at least currently is a few levels below, but for years McCoughtry also was not McCoughtry (the star), until Walz persuaded her to buy into the system. Walz is not starting out with the talent Geno has recruited, but the Almighty help Geno if he again has a season like 1999 when he lost some key starters and team went out early, because there are going to be posters saying he's unimpressive and what have you done for us lately?

 

[Scotter]

I didn't think anyone believes that Jeff Walz isn't a good coach, but it was popular in some corners to promote him as a great coach at least partly because it was a way of diminishing Frese. I've seen posters here suggest that he would be a good successor to Geno. That I just don't see. I see a guy who can maintain a Top 15 program, but I don't see greatness. And I would say the same about his counterpart at Kentucky.

 

[avolfan]

Trying to post an honest opinion on Tenn. Warlick had PHS looking over her shoulder all of last year. But right now, she is doing every thing right. Hired two excellent assitant coaches, will probably have a top five recruiting class. So it is a wait and see situation on how well she coaches. If the LVs reach the elite 8, then i would say she would be successful.

 

[doggydaddy]

Trying to post an honest opinion on Tenn. Warlick had PHS looking over her shoulder all of last year. But right now, she is doing every thing right. Hired two excellent assitant coaches, will probably have a top five recruiting class. So it is a wait and see situation on how well she coaches. If the LVs reach the elite 8, then i would say she would be successful.

I don't understand the impact of Pat looking over her shoulder. Can you explain? They better add a couple of more topped ranked recruits to get to #5.

 

[VAMike23]

Trying to post an honest opinion on Tenn. Warlick had PHS looking over her shoulder all of last year. But right now, she is doing every thing right. Hired two excellent assitant coaches, will probably have a top five recruiting class. So it is a wait and see situation on how well she coaches. If the LVs reach the elite 8, then i would say she would be successful.

I wasn't impressed with Warlick's 'presence' in a number of post-game pressers last season, where the drumbeats of "players not executing the game plan" or "not fighting hard enough" etc. etc. were an all too common refrain. She seemed a bit lost in the lights. It kept begging the question, "Why?" Why were game plans not being executed, over and over again? Especially with a team that had some senior leaders that she had helped coach for 4 yrs. Why were they not living up to the LV legacy (per quotes from players and coaches, too). These may not have been 'her girls' 100% from a recruiting standpoint, but it's not like Warlick was brought in from the outside last year. And has others have noted (more inside Vol nation than out) her game management and substitutions seemed pretty wacky at times. For someone with as many years on the sidelines as she has, for the same program, she did not look like someone who was ready for prime time at a top echelon WBB program, at least in a capacity as Head Coach. Hiring a couple of good assistants and landing recruits is good--but these are necessary, not sufficient, to compete for NCs as you point out ("...how well she coaches"). In the pros, these are GM-type things, not so much HC-type things. She needs to coach them up more effectively than they have been in the last couple of years.

She will have an easier time this year as the unquestioned leader without PHS on the sidelines, and with a summer to look ahead to a new chapter in LV hoops. But as others have noted, I doubt she will be making wholesale changes to the way things are done there in Knox, particularly with Pat still on campus. With any change, there is an opportunity for the new coach to put their imprint on how things are done, but this boils down to personal characteristics more than how to structure practices, or X's and O's, and this is where I think she falls short when compared to top coaches like PHS, Geno, Muffet, TV and a few others. Not as far as her being or not being a high quality person which I'm sure she is, but in terms of the intangibles you need to be a great leader. But who knows? Maybe she does have it and just needs some breathing room to make the team her own. She will probably get a few years to show it and will benefit from a lack of humongous expectations this year at least. As you point out, E8 would probably be considered a rousing success in 2012-13.

 

[Alydar]

A Louisville homer stating that the LVs are in decline would be like the Swiss celebrating that China fell to second place in the medals standings in the Olympics. In other words, saying that Tennessee is in decline from a position Louisville has never sniffed is pretty silly.

Characterizing Tennessee's athletic department as "mired in controversy" is a gross overstatement. Some decisions were made, others didn't like it, and there's little evidence that any of that is going to impact that actual program results. A Johnny-come-lately program's fan not-so-subtly questioning Tennessee's relative dedication to Title IX is even more ludicrous.

Oh by the way: those big-time CFB and basketball programs have afforded sec schools a ton of resources and television coverage, even for other sports. How many Louisville games were televised vis a vis Tennessee?

The Big East is a premier WBB conference because of UConn and Notre Dame. Louisville is not a bad program, but no one would be calling he Beast a premier WBB conference because of their presence.

Basically, I'm getting kind of tired of all the excuses for why Louisville hasn't done squat since Angel graduated. I don't care about your recruits. I don't care about your basketball arena that you basically give away tickets to in order for "fans" to attend WBB games. I don't care about anything other than results, and by the way, you have a program in your own state that has been killing you in that category since Angel left. Until you do something better than getting absolutely curb stomped by UConn three times en route to an also-ran finish against a weak field, don't compare yourselves to a program with eight national championships and two consecutive trips to the Elite Eight, even in a time of relative turmoil.

My god, this blogger just made me defend the honor of the LV program. I feel dirty.

I made a couple of changes so you could see how I feel.

Basically, I'm getting kind of tired of all the excuses for why Louisville Tenn hasn't done squat since Angel Parker graduated. I don't care about your recruits. I don't care about your basketball arena that you basically give away tickets to in order for "fans" to attend WBB games.

JMO but just because someone doesn't root for a school with as illustrious a past as Tenn does not preclude them from recognizing another program in decline. It's not about position on the totem pole, it's about which direction you are moving.

 

[Bayareahusky]

IMHO, the TN pundits haven't taken Hollly's training wheels off yet. I saw probably 8 or 9 LV games last year, and it looked like the Keystone Cops. No chemistry, no knowledge of what the battle plan was at any time..... except for that one good home game vs. Kentucky, when they looked great. No settling on starting lineup, until late in season, when (would love to know who decided this one) it was deemed that the 5 seniors were the best bet for starters.

Pat stayed out of the game situations......... I guess what I expected from HW was more authority, a lot more order, and for her to stand on the courage of her convictions. If I was Simmons, I would transfer out. First I am starting then I am not, I get into a game for a couple of minutes, then I am out.

Iwould prefer not to hear that upon being given the keys to the kindom, that she said " Oh but I feel uncomfortable because this whole situation is up in the air" It wasn't The only unknown was when Pat would step down officially.

So maybe she will show differently this year. But come on, she has 30 yrs of coaching experience. As of this point, I wold rather have Mulkey, McCallie, Walz, or Mitchell to name a few.

 

[avolfan]

to doggydaddy. did you ever try to get your work done with your boss looking over your shoulder, questioning every move you made. that was the situation with Warlick last year. And yes, Tenn will almost for sure sign a top five class. Tenn is the strong hunt for 5 top 20 players, so i think Tenn will sign at least two more.